Child and Data Protection
CHILD PROTECTION / TÈARNAINTEACHD NA CLOINNE
From time to time incidents can occur within the school setting which cause concern and could indicate that a child is suffering from some form of abuse. In terms of Highland Child Protection Committee Inter-Agency Protection Guidelines, Education Service staff must report such incidents to Social Work Services, which can lead to a joint Social Work/Police investigation. All agencies involved in Child Protection are obliged to make the welfare of children their paramount consideration and this will be the priority for Education Service staff.
More information about Child Protection Procedures within Highland can be obtained from the Child Protection Development Officer, Miss Pene Rowe, Highland Child Protection Committee, Kimmylies Building, Leachkin Road, Inverness IV3 8NN - Telephone (01463 703483) Fax (01463 713237)
DATA PROTECTION / TÈARNAINTEACHD DATA
Any information that is supplied or gathered from parents/guardians relating to pupils will be used only for the purposes for which it was provided and any relevant procedures following from this. This data will be maintained in accordance with the Act and will not be passed on to any other organisation without your prior approval unless this is a legal requirement.
Transferring Educational Data About Pupils- A’ cur thairis data mun chlann
Education authorities and the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED) have collected data about pupils on paper forms for many years. We are now working together to transfer data electronically through the ScotXed programme.
What pupil data will be collected and transferred?
Data on each pupil is collected by local authorities and SEED. The data collected and transferred covers areas such as date of birth, postcode, registration for free-school meals, whether a pupil is looked after by his/her local authority, additional support needs including disability, attendance, absence and exclusions from school. Pupil names and addresses are collected by their school and education authority but they are not passed to SEED. Your postcode is the only part of your address that is transferred. Data is held securely and no information on individual pupils can or would be published by SEED
Providing national identity and ethnic background data is entirely voluntary. You can choose the ‘not disclosed’ option if you do not want to provide this data. However, we hope that the explanations contained in this message and on our website will help you understand the importance of providing the data.
Why do we need your data?
I n order to make the best decisions about how to improve our education service, SEED and education authorities need accurate, up-to-date data about our pupils. We are keen to help all our pupils do well in all aspects of school life and achieve better exam results. Accurate and up-to-date data allows SEED, education authorities and schools to:
J plan and deliver better policies for the benefit of all pupils,
J plan and deliver better policies for the benefit of specific groups of pupils,
J better understand some of the factors that influence pupil attainment and achievement,
J target resources better.
Your data protection rights
The collection, transfer, processing and sharing of ScotXed data is done in accordance with the Data Protection Act (1998). We also comply with the National Statistics Code of Practice requirements and other legislation related to safeguarding the confidentiality of data. The Data Protection Act gives you the right to know how we will use your data. This message can give only a brief description of how we use data. Fuller details of the uses of pupil data can be found on the ScotXed website (www.scotxed.net).
SEED works with a range of partners including HM Inspectorate of Education and the Scottish Qualifications Authority. On occasion, we will make individual data available to partners and also academic institutions to carry out research and statistical analysis. In addition, we will provide our partners with information they need in order to fulfil their official responsibilities. Any sharing of data will be done under the strict control and prior agreement of the Data Sharing Panel in SEED, which will ensure that no individual level data will be made public as a result of the data sharing and that these data will not be used to take any actions in respect of an individual.
Concerns
If you have any concerns about the ScotXed data collections you can email the Senior Statistician, Peter Whitehouse, at peter.whitehouse@scotland.gsi.gov.uk or write to The ScotXed Support Office, SEED, Area 1B, Victoria Quay, Leith, EH6 6QQ. Alternative versions of this page are available, on request from the ScotXed Support Office, in other languages, audio tape, Braille and large print.
Want more information?
Further details about ScotXed data exchanges are available on the ScotXed website, www.scotxed.net.
